A Chinese-Australian artist who was detained in Beijing just before the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown is to be deported, Canberra said Friday.

According to two friends, Guo Jian, a former Tiananmen Square protester, was taken on Sunday night from his home in Songzhuang, an art colony on the eastern fringe of Beijing.

Another artist told reporters the detention of the 52-year-old Chinese-born Australian was triggered by his recent work on a Tiananmen-themed art installation.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement that consular officials visited Mr Guo on Thursday as they "sought an explanation for his detention" from authorities.

"Chinese authorities have advised Mr Guo was detained on a visa-related matter," the statement said.

"It remains our understanding Mr Guo will be detained for 15 days and then required to depart China."

Mr Guo's detention came just days before the 25th anniversary of the June 4 military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square when hundreds of people were killed, by some estimates, more than 1,000.

China censors any mention of the 1989 crackdown and ramped up already strict controls ahead of the anniversary.

It also detained some 20 prominent liberal academics, lawyers and activists in recent weeks, according to the US-based group Human Rights in China.

Mr Guo's detention was seen as part of a wider effort by authorities to stifle criticism of the government and remembrance of those who died in connection with the events 25 years ago.

"On June 1, Australian Guo Jian committed fraud to obtain a temporary residence permit and was discovered by the Beijing police," Mr Hong said.

"Beijing police acted in accordance with the law."

There are reports that authorities had smashed one of Mr Guo's works at his Beijing studio, a large diorama of Tiananmen Square that he had at one point last month covered in raw minced pork.

The anniversary of the date on which troops shot their way into central Beijing has never been publicly marked in mainland China.

However, every year there are commemorations in Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, as well as in self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own.

Chinese leaders have defended the use of the army to quell the protests, saying they chose the correct path for the sake of the people.

Authorities on Thursday released on bail three activists - dissident writers Liu Di and Hu Shigen, and Xu Youyu, a researcher at a government think tank - who had been detained for a month for attending a meeting to mark the protests.